SERIES NOTES

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, October 22, 1995

ATLANTA - A blown call by umpire Bruce Froemming may have cost the Atlanta Braves a big inning. It didn't cost them Game 1 of the World Series.

The Braves scored two runs in the seventh inning Saturday night to break a 1-1 tie and go on to a 3-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians behind Greg Maddux, who pitched a two-hitter.

The inning began with Fred McGriff and David Justice drawing walks off Orel Hershiser. He was replaced by Paul Assenmacher, who walked pinch hitter Mike Devereaux, loading the bases.

Julian Tavares came on and the left-handed hitting Luis Polonia pinch-hit against the rookie right-hander. He bounced a grounder to shortstop Omar Vizquel, who bobbled it, then tagged second just ahead of the sliding Devereaux.

Television replays, however, clearly showed that Vizquel never had control of the ball when he tagged the base.

One run scored on the play, and Rafael Belliard followed with a squeeze bunt for the second run.

"My opinion was that he obviously kicked the ball and when he finally picked the ball up he beat the guy to the bag," said Froemming.

"It looked like he bobbled it to me. Otherwise I wouldn't have been arguing," said Cox.

"I think he was safe," said Polonia. "He never got hold of the ball. He never had control. Everybody who saw the play saw that there was no doubt he was safe. But umpires make mistakes. They're human. The bottom line is we won the game."

Froemming, however, was adamant.

"Cox's argument was I didn't see the play. I saw the play," said Froemming. "I know the ball was dropped, but I had him (Vizquel) with control of the ball before he dropped it."

Historic steals&lt;

Kenny Lofton wasn't just fast Saturday night. He was also sneaky.

The speedy Cleveland outfielder got the Indians off to a quick start in Game 1 of the World Series, stealing two bases and scoring a run against Greg Maddux in the first inning.

Lofton became the first AL player to steal two bases in an inning in the World Series since Babe Ruth did it in 1921. Davey Lopes was the last NL player to do it, back in 1974.

"Kenny's speed can distort the game," manager Mike Hargrove said. "We saw that in the first inning and again in the ninth."

Native Americans protest&lt;

About 35 members of the American Indian Movement continued efforts to eliminate Native American mascots by staging a protest outside Fulton County Stadium.

In a heavily secured area cordoned off for the group, protesters held signs that read "Racist Mascot Must Go," and "No Chop Zone," and urged fans to trash their tomahawks and headdresses.

"We are not your mascots, we are not your playthings," said Atlanta's Cleto Montelongo, 48, who helped organize the protest. "Grow up . . . stop the mockery . . . stop desecrating our culture. That's all we're asking, that you respect us as people, not treat us as clowns."

Blauser off Braves' roster&lt;

Atlanta shortstop Jeff Blauser, who sat out the last three games of the National League Championship Series against Cincinnati because of a deep thigh bruise, was taken off the World Series roster when his pregame drills indicated he was still not 100 percent. The Braves replaced Blauser with Ed Giavanola.

"It was a tough decision," manager Bobby Cox said.

"Jeff's been part of the winning here, but on the other hand he's not a selfish person. He wants to do what is best for the team. We don't lose anything defensively with Rafael at shortstop, but it takes away some power.

"Jeff might be OK by next weekend, but he'd be limited in the meantime and it's going to be cold tonight, cold tomorrow and ice cold in Cleveland."

Pena to catch Game 2&lt;

"I don't want this to be perceived as my thinking that Tony Pena is better than Sandy Alomar, because at this point of their careers that's not the case," Hargrove said.

"Sandy is a tremendous catcher, but we all felt there was a marked improvement in the way Dennis went about his job (in Game 6 of the series against Seattle when Alomar was sidelined by a stiff neck). We're trying to maximize our chances to win, and we think this does that."

Fair skies forecast&lt;

Cool temperatures, fair skies and light winds were forecast for the second game of the World Series Sunday night.

The National Weather Service said highs Sunday will reach the lower 70s, but will drop into the 50s during the evening. No rain is expected.&lt;